Page 44 - Climate Change

Lowest emission nations hit hardest by heat in June-Aug period: Analysis

Countries with the lowest historical emissions experienced three to four times higher than seasonal temperatures this June-August days than G20 countries, according to an analysis conducted by an independent US-based group of scientists using a metric called the Climate Shift Index (CSI). The three-month June-August 2023 season was the warmest on record globally and the analysis by Climate Central indicates that human-caused climate change made the unprecedented heat far more likely across the globe. CSI measures how often and how much temperatures have shifted from the historical average. A higher index indicates more dramatic changes compared to the past. The CSI levels above 1 indicate climate change, while levels between 2 and 5 mean that climate change made those temperatures between two to five times more likely. During the June-August period, nearly half (48 per cent) of the world's population experienced at least 30 days with a CSI level 3 or higher, Climate Central said in

How carbon emissions accounting helps in achieving net zero targets

The process of calculating the amount of greenhouse gas emitted directly by operations or indirectly by supply chain and subsidiaries is known as carbon accounting

US Prez Biden to focus on progress on climate at G20 Summit: White House

The key focus areas for President Joe Biden at the G20 Summit include delivering for developing nations, making progress on key issues like climate, technology and reshaping the multilateral development banks, the White House has said, expressing hope that the bloc will be able to make headway on those topics under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. On Thursday, President Biden will travel to New Delhi to attend the G20 Leaders' Summit. On Friday, President Biden will participate in a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Modi and on Saturday and Sunday, the President will participate in the official sessions of the G20 Summit. As Biden heads to the G20, he is committed to working with emerging market partners to deliver big things together, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during a press briefing on Tuesday. "That's what we believe the world will see in New Delhi this weekend," he said. America's commitment to the G20 has not wavered, and it hopes the G20 Summi

Ahead of G20 summit, India dodges mixing human rights with climate agenda

Combining the two issues may make finding consensus in the group's final communique difficult

Time to have global conversation about carbon tax on polluters: Kenya prez

Climate change is relentlessly eating away at Africa's economic progress and it's time to have a global conversation about a carbon tax on polluters, Kenya's president declared Tuesday as the first Africa Climate Summit got underway. Those who produce the garbage refuse to pay their bills, President William Ruto, a host of the summit, said to an audience that included senior officials from China, the United States and the European Union - some of the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases. The rapidly growing African continent of more than 1.3 billion people is losing 5% to 15% of its gross domestic product growth every year to the widespread impacts of climate change, according to Ruto. It's a source of deep frustration in the resource-rich region that contributes by far the least to global warming. He and other leaders urged reforms to the global financial structures that have left African nations paying about five times more to borrow money than others, worsening the debt .

De-hyping climate change

We need hybrid solutions to adapt to climate change, not panic-driven funding of net-zero goals

World losing race to meet climate change commitments: COP28 president

The summit, which opened on Monday, is focused on mobilising financing for Africa's response to climate change

Current climate policies not enough to meet Paris targets: Lancet study

Attempts to pursue "green growth" in high-income countries will not deliver the emission reductions required to meet the climate targets and fairness principles of the Paris Agreement, according to a study. The study, published recently in The Lancet Planetary Health journal, shows that if current trends continue, even the 11 high-income countries that have "decoupled" carbon emissions from gross domestic product (GDP) growth would on average take over 200 years to get their emissions close to zero. These countries would emit more than 27-times their fair share of the "global carbon budget" that must not be exceeded if we are to avert catastrophic warming beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius, as required by the Paris Agreement. The researchers argue that the pursuit of economic growth in high-income countries is at odds with internationally agreed climate targets, and call for transformative "post-growth" climate policy centred around sufficiency, fairness, and wellbeing. The study compared

Farmers' incomes are key for boosting food security

Why enabling small-scale farmers to participate in food value chains can lead to rural prosperity

The impact of food on climate

The problem is that there are two distinct agricultural worlds

Preparing for a changed monsoon

Policymakers need to create conditions for the people to adapt to climate change

Groundwater depletion rates could triple in India due to irrigation: Report

Currently, the most overexploited aquifers are in the northwest and south of India, but the study indicates that by 2050 that area may extend to the southwest, the southern peninsula and central India

Data will explain celestial phenomena: Ex-Isro chairman on Aditya-L1

"The data from this mission will help explain various phenomena taking place in the atmosphere and aid climate change studies," G Madhavan Nair added

G7, G20 nations should collaborate on climate action: Think tank ADBI

A leading Asian think tank Thursday called for G-7 and G-20 member nations to collaborate on climate action by going beyond energy transitions and building climate-resilient infrastructure. In a blog post, the Asian Development Bank Institute said G7 can lead the global efforts to build climate-resilient infrastructure and systems, while G20 nations can focus on embedding sustainability into their urban development and agricultural practices. The ADBI noted G20 members such as China, India, Indonesia still continue to depend on coal-fired power plants for their electricity generation which "evoke concerns about humanity's future in the face of the climate crisis". "Such conflicting signals from major nations render the future of climate action uncertain," it said. The think tank also suggested that the G7 and G20 countries should collaborate at the financial level. "Although developed countries have pledged to provide 100 billion dollars annually in climate finance to developing .

IMD Weather Forecast (Aug 31): Heavy rainfall in many states till Sept 3

According to IMD forecasts, Till September 3, some parts of India like Odisha, Gangetic West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Manipur, are likely to see a lot of rain and thunderstorms

Climate change may lead to 1 bn premature deaths over next century: Study

Climate change induced by human activity is likely to be responsible for the premature death of about one billion people over the next century, if global warming reaches two degrees Celsius, a study suggests. The oil and gas industry is directly and indirectly responsible for over 40 per cent of carbon emissions -- impacting the lives of billions of people, many living in the world's most remote and low-resourced communities, the researchers said. The study, published in the journal Energies, proposes aggressive energy policies that would enable immediate and substantive decreases to carbon emissions. It also recommends a heightened level of government, corporate and citizen action to accelerate the decarbonisation of the global economy, aiming to minimise the number of projected human deaths. The researchers found the peer-reviewed literature on the human mortality costs of carbon emissions converged on the "1,000-ton rule," which is an estimate that one future premature death is .

IMD Weather Forecast (Aug 28): Heavy rainfall in few states till August 29

Over the course of the next five days, it is predicted that East and Northeast India will encounter light to moderate rainfall, thunderstorms with lightning

Risk of fatal heatwaves rises sharply over 2 decades, finds study

The risk of fatal heat waves has risen sharply over the past 20 years, and such extreme weather will become more frequent in the future, increasing heat-related excess mortality, a study shows. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, found that Europe will be particularly affected. Heat waves of the kind we are currently experiencing are particularly deadly for the elderly, the sick and the poor, the researchers said. The 2003 heat wave, which saw temperatures in Europe reach 47.5 degrees Celsius, was one of the worst natural disasters of recent decades, claiming an estimated 45,000 to 70,000 victims in the space of a few weeks, they said. The researchers from ETH Zurich in Switzerland found that such heat waves could become the new norm in the coming years. Since 2013, they have been systematically collecting data on daily heat-related excess mortality for 748 cities and communities in 47 countries in Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America, the US and Canada. T

How climate change is helping pests and diseases destroy our food

As temperature rise, you have this expanded geographic range and this expanded range of insects that will just increase those diseases that insects spread

Free trade based growth, climate action key priorities for India: Kant

Speaking at the B20 Summit India 2023 organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Kant said India's developmental philosophy rests on having a human centric approach